By phone or email
To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Are you a parent, kinship carer relative or friend of a child who is involved with, or who needs the help of, children’s services in England? We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.
Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.
To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.
Our get help and advice section has template letters, advice sheets and resources about legal and social care processes. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, you can use our webchat service to chat online to an adviser.
This Act places a duty on local authorities to work with other agencies for the benefit of children. For example it requires local authorities to work with the police, health services and youth offending teams. They should work together to promote the wellbeing of children and young people in their area. This is to help keep children safe. (Sections 10 and 11 of the Act provide this).
The Act places a duty on local authorities to appoint people who are accountable for the delivery of children’s services. This includes a director of children’s services. It also requires local authorities to appoint a lead member for children’s services. This person is an elected councillor. (Sections 18 and 19 of the Act provide this).
The Act required every local authority to set up a local safeguarding children board (Sections 13-16). It set out specific requirements of how that board should be made up. This requirement was changed by the Children and Social Work Act 2017. This 2017 Act allows more flexibility in how safeguarding arrangements are set up locally.
The Children Act 2004 also enabled the introduction of regulations to bring in a minimum fostering allowance. This is set out in Section 49 of the Act.
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